The Hard Way
by Abbey06
Summary: L.L. all the way. 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai’s big fight. She walks away, but he doesn’t let her get too far. Yes, another take on “Partings” but I swear, this one is different. I'm a diehard javajunkie, so just give this a chance.
1. But I Do Love You

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Yes, another take on "Partings" but I swear, this one is different. Just give it a chance. **

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Chapter 1: But I Do Love You 

"It's now or never!"

He stood, frozen in place, not blinking for a moment, as she waited for some kind of response. His silence spoke volumes, and as the tears fell from her eyes, she yanked the beautiful diamond from her left hand and stepped towards him.

"Here." She held the ring out to him, but he remained immobile. "I can't keep this anymore," she whispered. Reaching for his hand, she placed the ring on his palm and closed his fist around it, then turned and walked away.

The cool metal in his fist seemed to wake Luke from his stupor. He opened his hand, and was astonished to see the ring there. Looking up only to see her retreating figure, he felt as though his heart was going with her. As she continued walking, he desperately tried to sort out his thoughts. How had things spun out of control so quickly? Why was he holding her ring? Where was she going? His brain rushed to catch up with the conversation that had just taken place. She'd said so many things so fast; he was still trying to comprehend it all. But the one thing he knew, without thought or reason, was that he could not just let her walk away. Suddenly, his feet started moving, following her. His only thought now was that he couldn't let her leave, and he picked up his pace, so that he was running in her direction. He jumped a little at a feeling of what he thought was rain. No, it wasn't raining, he realized, he was crying.

"Lorelai!" He shouted as he neared her. "Wait, no! Stop!" She started walking faster, but he reached for her shoulder before she could get away. At his touch, she froze, and he immediately dropped his hand. "Lorelai. What the hell?" She was staring at the ground, with her back towards him, so he moved around to face her. "Lorelai," seeing that she was crying, his voice was soft and ridden with guilt and pain. "Let's just talk about this, please." His voice cracked on the last word, and with tears streaming down his own face, he lifted his hand, as if to touch her, but changed his mind, dropping it to his side.

"Luke, are you crying?" She asked, finally looking up only to be shocked to see his tears.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, wiping at his face but not meeting her gaze.

"I don't know that I've ever seen you cry—" she ignored his question, still astonished at his display of emotion.

"Yes, you have," he cut her off. "At Rory's graduation. And what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just surprised—" but he didn't wait for her to finish her thought.

"You stand there, yelling at me, saying all this stuff, and then you just walk away because I can't jump fast enough?" The tears were still streaming down his face, but he didn't care. "I don't…I can't…I just…" he choked on his words. "I can't lose you." Their eyes finally met. "I won't lose you," he said. It came out as a command and a plea all at once. "Can we talk through this, please?" He was begging now, but it didn't matter to him. He knew that if she walked away now, that she wouldn't stop again, and he couldn't let that happen.

"God, Luke," she breathes. They're both still crying, not breaking eye contact. "Luke, I just stood there, pouring my heart out to you, and you said nothing. And now you want to talk?" Her voice was dripping with anguish and disbelief.

"Geez, I'm sorry, but I don't process as fast as you, and you know that! Everything you said, I was just trying to take it all in. I could hardly breathe, I couldn't move, until I felt…" he pauses and holds out the ring, "Suddenly your ring is in my hand and you're halfway down the street and I just…I couldn't let you just walk away. Please, don't go, don't." He stepped closer to her, and reached out, placing one hand on her shoulder, running the other through her hair, but still holding her eyes with his. "I love you…so much…please. Let's go home and talk."

"Luke." Her voice was almost a whisper, as she raised her hand to his face, using her thumbs to wipe away his tears. "I love you, you know that, but there's more to it than that."

"I know," was his simply reply, as he reached to wipe her tears as she was doing for him.

"Ok." Lorelai said. "Let's go home and talk." She stepped back and took his hand, and together they silently walked home.

To be continued…

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**A/N: I do realize that "emotional-Luke" is a bit out of character, but it's my story, and I wanted him to show some emotion damnit. ****A/N: I've already started on the next chapter, and it should be longer than this one. I already know exactly where I'm going with this story, but I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to take. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes…**

**Please review. This is only my second story, and I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	2. Keep Me Believing that You Love Me Too

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I really appreciate it.

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**

**Chapter 2: Keep Me Believing that You Love Me Too**

The walk back to the house had been in complete silence. They didn't look at each other, not even stolen glances, both stared straight ahead, but their hands remained joined, serving as a reminder to each that the other was still there. Once they were behind closed doors, the 'talk' had immediately escalated to a fight.

"You've been shutting me out for months now! MONTHS!"

"Come on, I told you, I needed time…"

"Time for what? Time to shove me out of your life?"

"Hey, I told you, I wanted to get to know her on my own."

"Oh, my god, Luke! What about her birthday party? That went great! She had a blast. You let me be there for that."

"I guess I just…" Luke sighed.

"I don't know why you're letting Anna get to you like this."

"What? What does this have to do with Anna?"

"She doesn't want me around April, because, you know, people just get engaged all the time nowadays, but that doesn't really mean anything. I mean, heaven forbid the girl might actually like me, and then what if I'm suddenly not around anymore?"

"What are you babbling about?"

"And, you know, maybe she's got something there. After all, you postponed our wedding."

"You suggested it! You said it was ok!"

"And I mean, why would you even want to marry me now? Let's see," she paused briefly, tapping her finger against her head in thought. "You've done the whole 'marriage' thing once, and that didn't quite work out for ya, so, ha, bad experience there. And now, you've got a kid. I mean, you know, we agreed that kids would be nice, but you've got one now. So you don't really need me for that one."

"Lorelai! What are you—"

"Oohhh! I get it now," she cut him off. "It's not about the marriage, it's not about kids. It can't be. It must just be me. I mean, you've stopped including me in anything that has to do with things that are important to you. So, I guess it's just gotta be me."

"You're crazy! You know that, right? You know that I do love you, I do want to marry you, and I'd be thrilled to have kids with you! You know all that!"

"Do I? Do I really? Because you're Mr. Actions-Speak-Louder-Than-Words! And lately, ha, I've got to tell you, your actions haven't just been speaking to me, they've been screaming at me. You've pushed me away, Luke. You've pushed me so far out of your life, I feel like I just don't belong anymore." She was desperately trying to keep her tears that were pooling in her eyes from flooding her face.

"You do belong, damnit!" He sighed heavily and looked down at his hands. "Lorelai, you just don't get it."

"No, Luke. You don't get it!" Lorelai shouted. "It's like, you were shoving me out of your life. It wasn't a "drifting," it wasn't like we were just growing apart. It was like, ok, we're walking along, and everything's going just great. And then we come to this bridge, and suddenly, you just shove me off the bridge. And so I'm left in the middle of this lake, stranded, all by myself, and I have no idea how the hell I got there. And I'm trying to find a way out, and I'm trying to figure out why the hell you shoved me off the bridge in the first place, and then, it hits me. You just don't want me in your life anymore." With the end of her rant, her tears could not be held back any longer, and she let out an uncontrollable sob.

"What? No. Lorelai, no." Seeing her tears and hearing the pain in her voice, broke his heart. They had been standing in the living room, yelling at each other since they walked in the door, and he wasn't even sure how long that had been. Stepping close to her, he gently reached for her shoulder and led her to sit on the couch.

"You know, Lorelai, that's probably the craziest thing you've said tonight. But, you need to know, I didn't mean to..." he paused with a sigh. "I have to make sure you realize, I am so sorry that I ever made you feel that way. But I didn't do it on purpose."

"You didn't do it on purpose? You really want me to believe that you didn't actually tell me to stay away from April? You didn't tell me not to get involved…"

"Wait! Stop. I didn't…I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I didn't mean to shove you off the bridge. I…I…god, I'm no good with words. Ah, geez. This whole mess with Anna, it's ridiculous. It's just that, she's April's mother. She kept April from me for this long, if she wants to keep her from me now, what's to stop her?"

"Luke, you're April's father. I've been in Anna's position before, and I know she just wants what is best for April. But the thing she's going to realize is, April spending time with you is the best thing for her."

"I was just so afraid of losing her I guess. I didn't realize that I was losing you."

"Luke…"

"I guess, in my mind, I had you. I mean, we're engaged. I wasn't really worried about losing you, so, I let myself focus on April, because I wanted to make sure I didn't lose her. I didn't mean to screw things up so bad. We were doing great, you and me, and everything was on track, and now, we're not. And that's my fault, I realize that now."

He paused for a moment, letting her take in what he'd just said, waiting for some kind of response from her. Suddenly deciding that he didn't want a response just yet, he jumped from the couch and started pacing, as he continued his attempt to explain himself.

"I think, what happened was, I just didn't deal with it. Any of it. Instead of talking to you about things, I just avoided you, because I was afraid of talking. What's happened to us now, that is what I was afraid would happen if I faced it all." He sat down on the coffee table directly in front of her. "I figured it was just easier to avoid things. But," he reached up and gently wiped her tears away, "I ended up causing what I was afraid would happen anyways. I'm just…I'm sorry. What can I do?"

"I don't know," Lorelai replied softly.

"But there has to be something," he plead with her. "If there's nothing…" he trailed off with a sigh.

"No, Luke, I just don't know. I mean, you really have no idea just how much you hurt me by shutting me out."

"I didn't before, but now," he sighed, then lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I see now, just how much I hurt you. And it kills me. That look on your face, that pain in your eyes. God, Lorelai. I spent years watching other guys do that to you, but I never thought I'd be one of them. I just…" he looked down, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting, and his voice broke as tears pooled in his eyes. "I made you cry," he whispered. "You're hurt, and you're crying, and it breaks my heart to know that I did that to you."

"Well, I realize that this is going to make me sound like a terrible person, but, I'm glad," she said with a weird sort of half-laugh half-sob. "I don't want you to be hurting, Luke, it's just," she let out a soft sigh. "I've felt like a shadow these past few months, like I was barely there. Because for the first time, it was like you completely stopped seeing me."

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I am. I don't know what else to say…"

"For years," she continued, "you always saw through whatever front I put up. Whether I was worried about Rory, or money, fighting with my parents, and whenever I got all stressed out by work or whatever it was. I'd put on a smile, and babble on about crazy things and everyone else would just smile and laugh with me and have no clue. But you. You always knew. We were best friends before we were anything else, and that's what always made us great. But then..."

"I stopped noticing," he whispered, staring at the floor. "I was afraid. I was terrified, that if I looked beneath the surface I'd notice…I don't know. But I just avoided it, I avoided everything. I figured if I ignored any possible problems, they'd just disappear. I know now, how stupid I was."

"I won't argue with you there."

"But, look, I need you to tell me when I'm being an idiot." He stood up now, and started pacing again. "I need you to tell me when I'm not noticing you. Because I don't mean to. But you're going to have to help me here. I need you to trust that I didn't do this on purpose." He finally quit pacing, and stared down at his shoes.

"Luke," she sighed. "I know. I'm sorry I said…"

"No." He stopped her. "I understand why you were so upset. I just…I need your help here."

"Ok."

"I'm sorry that things between us got so messed up," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "But things can change. Things are going to change now. Don't you trust me? Please, will you let me fix this?" He finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. "I love you, so much. Please, we have to get through this."

"We will."

"What can I do?" He asked through his tears. "What do you need me to do?"

She slowly stood up, walked over to him. Placing one hand on his chest, she buried her face into his soft flannel. His arms immediately engulfed her. One hand moved up and down her back comfortingly, while he tangled the other up in her hair. He hiding his face in her hair, he inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo, breathing out with a sigh. Lorelai's arm wrapped around his back tightened, as if she was afraid he'd slip out of her grasp, and the hand on his chest grabbed a fist full of flannel. They seemed to pull each other closer, though it wasn't quite possible.

"Just hold me, Luke. Just hold me for a while."

To be continued…

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**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review.**

**A/N: I apologize for any spelling, grammar, or continuity errors. I don't have a beta. I checked it many times myself, but it's just not the same without a beta.**


	3. This Love Drives Us Crazy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Again, thank you to my reviewers.

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**

**Chapter 3: This Love Drives Us Crazy**

They seemed to pull each other closer, though it wasn't quite possible.

"Just hold me, Luke. Just hold me for a while."

After a few minutes, Lorelai pulled back slightly to look at Luke. He caught her gaze, then leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. She immediately fell into it, moaning softly as the kiss deepened. It seemed to her that his lips left hers all too suddenly; but before she could even begin to form a protest, he was kissing her neck, blazing a trail up to that spot right next to her ear that he knew drove her crazy.

"Luke," she breathed out softly.

His lips returned to hers, their passion growing every moment. When he felt her start to undo the buttons of his flannel, he stepped back.

"Wait."

"What?" The absence of his lips from her own left her slightly dazed and confused.

"Um…" he reached into his pocket, pulling out her engagement ring. "You took this off." He said simply, but with a sadness in his voice. Holding it out to her, he asked, "Do you still want to marry me?"

"Oh, Luke," she leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "Of course I do. I'm sorry I doubted…"

"Don't." He interrupted her. "Just, put it back on." He reached for her left hand and slid the ring back into place, then gently kissed above it. She turned her hand and cupped his chin, guiding him to meet her lips.

"Do you…know what…this…means…" she mumbled against his mouth between kisses.

"Hmm…" he replied distractedly.

"Mmm..." she pulled back a little, leaving just an inch between their lips. "That was kind of a pretty big fight we just had, right?"

"Uh, yeah." He said, not sure what she was getting at.

"And now, the fight is over. We've made up, right?" She asked this before kissing along his jaw.

"Mmhmm."

"I have to say, a fight like that," she kissed her way back towards his lips, then paused to look up into his eyes, "deserves some pretty fantastic make-up sex."

"Oh, you're definitely right about that," he replied before catching her lips in yet another kiss. With his hands roaming up and down her body, and his lips still attached to hers, he started to slowly walk backwards, towards where he thought he might find the stairs. When he backed into a wall, he turned her around and pressed her up against it, still kissing her with all he had.

"Hmm, Luke?" She was slowly opening each button on his flannel.

"Lorelai." His hands slipped underneath the bottom of her shirt.

"Stairs. Bed. Now." She'd rather spend her time kissing him than forming complete sentences. They separated only long enough to get their bearings and locate the stairs, but resumed kissing before they even hit the first step.

"Up," he mumbled, reaching his hands to the back of her thighs. She jumped slightly and he lifted her. Her legs locked around his waist and he carried her up the stairs, never removing his lips from hers.

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The next morning, they lay tangled up in each other. Luke woke up, slowly remembering the previous night's events. Lorelai was still asleep, with her head on his chest and one arm wrapped around his torso. He had both arms wrapped around her, holding onto her as if he feared she might slip away. He lay still so as not to disturb her, and he smiled as he felt the soft rise and fall of her chest. The scent of her shampoo combined with that of her perfume and something else he was not sure of formed a distinct scent he knew to be hers, filling his head as he breathed. As he watched her sleep, he realized just how long it had been since he'd woken up like this, wrapped up in her.

His thoughts were interrupted by telephone. He quickly reached over Lorelai to grab the phone, as she mumbled incoherently and buried her face under a pillow.

"Hello?"

"Luke?"

"Rory?"

"Rory?" Lorelai's head appeared from under the pillow. Her voice still laden with sleep, she asked, "Why on earth is she calling so early?"

"Hey, Luke, can I talk to Mom?"

"Yeah, sure, hang on." Luke handed the phone over to Lorelai.

"Hey hon. What's with the wake-up call?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were home. I was driving through town, and your Jeep is parked by the diner."

"Oh, yeah. Wait, you're driving through town? Its like," she paused to glance at the clock, "it's 6:30 in the morning!"

"Yeah, I'm almost home."

"Rory, why…Oh, that's right. Logan left for London."

"I couldn't really sleep. And I didn't like being there alone."

"Aw, babe."

"Is it ok if I spend the weekend at home?"

"Of course."

"Ok, well, I'm going to hang up now, because I'm almost there."

"Alright, bye." Lorelai hung up the phone.

"Logan left for London?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. She said she'll be here in a minute."

Luke leaned closer and gave her a kiss. "I'll go make some breakfast." She reached out and pulled him down for another kiss, this one was much longer and more heated than the last. Before things could get too intense, Luke regrettably pulled back. "Put some clothes on. Rory will be here any second," he reminded her.

"Hey mister, you need to cover up too," she said as he climbed out of bed. He rolled his eyes as he pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt; then gave her a quick kiss before heading downstairs.

He started the coffee first before going in search of the pancake mix and chocolate chips. He figured that if Rory was sad over Logan, the least he could do was put chocolate chips in her pancakes. The burner had just heated up, and as he poured some batter onto the skillet, he heard a car pull up outside.

"Hey, Rory," he said when she entered the kitchen.

"Hi Luke," she replied.

"I'm making chocolate chip pancakes. And the coffee should be ready in just a minute."

"Luke," she squeaked out before suddenly reaching out to hug him. He felt her tears on his shirt, and wrapped his arms around her hesitantly. She continued crying as he patted her back, doing his best to comfort her.

"Hey, it'll be ok."

"Sorry," she said, pulling away from him as suddenly as she had hugged him. "I know you probably don't like crying girls." She wiped her face, trying to erase all evidence of her tears.

"No, it's ok. I hate to see you so upset, though. But, look, the coffee's done."

"Oh, thank god!" She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured herself some of the precious liquid. "Oh wow," she said after taking her first sip. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you cook breakfast in this house before."

"What, you've seen other people cook breakfast in this kitchen?"

"Oh, yeah right. If my mother ever tried to cook anything other than poptarts, there wouldn't be a kitchen left." Rory took a seat at the table, holding tightly to her mug of precious coffee.

"Good point," he replied with a slight smirk.

"Hey!" Lorelai cried indignantly as she entered the kitchen. She had watched their little interaction from the living room, and now decided to make her presence known. "I don't think I like the idea of you two talking smack about me behind my back." She leaned down and gave Rory a quick hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, Mom. You know you can't cook, don't deny it."

"Eh, you're right," she replied with a shrug, heading toward the coffee pot. Suddenly, her hand flew over her mouth and she turned away. "Ugh."

"Lorelai, you okay?"

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Mmm, just nauseous. The smell of the coffee kind of just hit me, and usually it's wonderful, but today…ugh." She pulled out a chair next to Rory and sat down at the table.

"Are you getting sick?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, maybe it was something I had at dinner last night."

"But it would've hit you last night," Rory pointed out. "Maybe you're getting a cold or the flu or something."

"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "Hey, Luke, how are those pancakes coming?"

"Here," he said gruffly, setting a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of each girl. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Yeah, thanks, babe. These are great," Lorelai said with a mouthful of food.

"I thought you were nauseous," Luke pointed out.

"Not anymore," she smiled.

"Ok, well, I'm gonna go get ready, I had Caesar open at 6, but with Lane on her honeymoon, I've gotta be there when the main breakfast crowd comes in." With that, Luke headed upstairs.

"So, I thought you said you weren't feeling so great last week. You're still sick," Rory commented.

"Yeah, I _was_ feeling better. I think it's just a mild case of the flu."

"Mom, it's been a while now. Don't you think you should go to the doctor or something?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Anyways, enough about me, how are you doing? I mean, you came home at 6:30 in the morning because Logan's off in London."

"I know. I guess I just miss him already. And we were supposed to have the summer together. We were supposed to go to Asia, and, I don't know, eat sushi and sit on the Great Wall of China. But now he's in London…working. And who knows when I'll see him again."

"Oh, Rory. I know you're sad, hon," Lorelai said, giving Rory a sympathetic smile. "But I'm sure he'll find time to visit. And you could always go see him in London. You know, pack a suitcase, hop on a plane, and there you are."

They continued to chatter on while working away on their pancakes. After a little while, Luke came downstairs, dressed in his usual flannel and jeans.

"Hey, I gotta take off," he announced as he walked into the kitchen. "Lorelai, are you feeling better?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Luke, really," she assured him.

"Alright," Luke said with a sigh. "Do you think you guys will be in later for lunch?"

"Um, I don't know," Lorelai answered. "What do you think, Rory?"

"Lunch at Luke's sounds good to me."

"Alright, that's great," Luke said, smiling. "April's hanging out in the diner today, so this way you can all do lunch together. Maybe, get to know each other a little better." He shrugged his shoulders and looked down slightly, trying not to make a big deal out of it. Lorelai's mouth was hanging open, and she and Rory exchanged looks.

"Sounds good, Luke," Rory said, standing up. "I'm going to go, um, unpack my bag," she slowly backed towards her bedroom. "You know, in my room," she pointed over her shoulder awkwardly before rushing into her room and closing the door.

"Hey, you sure you're feeling ok?" Luke asked Lorelai as she stood up from the table. "I mean, I've never seen you reject your morning coffee like that." She was standing in front of him now, and she threw her arms around his neck, as he placed his hands on her waist.

"Are you sure about this lunch with April?"

"You don't want to do it?" he questioned, suddenly looking concerned. "I mean, after we talked last night I thought…" she shut him up with a passionate kiss. After a few moments, she pulled back, and looked him in the eye.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, before kissing him again.

"Lorelai," he reached a hand up and gently tucked some stray curls behind her ear. "You mean the world to me, Rory too. I figure that it's about time to formally introduce two of the most important people in my life to my daughter."

"Um, I believe Rory already has been 'formally introduced' to April," she reminded him with a smile. "At Jess's book thing in Philadelphia."

"Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes before leaning in for another kiss. "Ok. I've gotta go now. It's already 7, and that's about when the diner starts getting busy."

"Alright. I'll see you around noon?" He nodded, and she pulled him in for another kiss.

"I love you." They kissed again. He stepped back and headed towards the front door, Lorelai following behind him.

"I love you too," she replied, and kissing him one last time before he headed off to work. She pulled back the curtain of the living room window, and as soon as she saw he was out of the driveway she ran toward the kitchen. Rory met her in the hallway.

"So, we're having lunch with April..."

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_**To be continued…**_

**A/N: I apologize for any spelling, grammar, or continuity errors. I don't have a beta. I checked it many times myself, but it's just not the same as having a beta.**

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	4. Three Wishes I Could Wish for Us

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: As always, thanks to those of you who took the time to review. It means a lot to me.

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****Chapter 4: Three Wishes I Could Wish For Us**

"So, here goes," Lorelai said to Rory, as they walked up to the diner.

"Mom, just don't make it seem like a big deal." Rory had spent the entire walk to the diner trying to get her mom to calm down. "It's just lunch. Are you afraid that April's not going to like you?"

"It's not that. I'm pretty sure after her birthday party she already likes me…or tolerates me at least."

"Then why are you freaking out about this. You said that you and Luke talked. Things are better now. He purposely asked us to come have lunch at the diner today because April is here."

"What if he changes his mind?" Lorelai asked quietly, staring at the ground.

"Mom, he's not going to change his mind," Rory answered reassuringly. Lorelai looked up and gave a small smile, as Rory continued, "Now come on. Let's just go in there, because I am starving, and I know you are too."

As they walked into the diner, Luke was no where to be found; they noticed April sitting at the counter, so they walked up to join her.

"Hey, April. How are you?" Lorelai asked.

"Lorelai, hi. Oh, and Rory, hey. I'm good. School's almost over, but I haven't quite decided if I'm happy or sad about that. How have you guys been?"

"Oh, good, good." Rory answered.

"Yeah, we've been good," Lorelai chimed in. "You know, that's how Rory always felt about school, too," she added, with a smile toward Rory.

"Yeah, I'm always conflicted at the end of the year. Happy to have the break, but sad at the same time."

"Well, it's great to know I'm not the only one," April replied with a smile.

"Hey, so, where's Luke?"

"Oh, Dad's in the kitchen," April said just as Luke emerged from the back with an armload of plates.

"Hey," Luke said as he walked by to deliver the food off to the waiting customers. He smiled to himself at the sight of his three girls sitting together at the counter. Coming to stand behind the counter, he caught Lorelai's gaze and gave her a shy smile, before grabbing an order pad and gruffly asking, "What do you guys want for lunch?"

"Oh, finally some service in this place!" Lorelai exclaimed dramatically.

"Oh, please. You've been waiting, what, two minutes?"

"No, I'd say it's been at least three."

"Oh wow. Three minutes. You'll live," Luke replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Um, no I won't, not if I starve to death while I'm sitting here waiting."

"You're not gonna starve to death because you had to wait two minutes to order," he interjected.

"And then you'll have to deal with my dead body just sitting here in your diner," she continued on, ignoring his last statement. "And really, do you want to be the cause of my death, mister? People will whisper behind your back everywhere you go, 'hey, there goes that guy who's fiancé died because he wouldn't feed her!'"

"You're crazy, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," she replied with a shrug.

"I guess that means I'm crazy too." He turned to Rory and asked, "Rory, do you know what you want?"

"I'll take my Saturday lunchtime usual."

"How do you have a 'Saturday lunchtime usual'?" Lorelai asked turning to Rory. "You rarely ever eat here anymore."

"I eat here all the time. Maybe not as much as I used to, because I'm off at school, but still."

"You guys have been coming here for over 10 years," Luke interrupted. "The girl has established a 'usual'." He jotted down Rory's order before turning to April. "What'll it be today, kid?"

"I was thinking a cheeseburger," April replied thoughtfully. "No lettuce or tomato or pickles or any of that stuff. Just a plain ol' cheeseburger, oh can I get extra cheese? Oh, and a side of curly fries. Aaaand…hmm. I'll take a strawberry milkshake to drink, please."

"Rory, what is your 'usual'?" Lorelai asked.

"Actually, it's pretty much what April just ordered," Rory replied. "Except for the milkshake."

"Huh. You know, that sounds good, I'll take that too," Lorelai said.

"Do you want what Rory ordered or what April ordered?"

"What's the difference, if they're the same?" Lorelai retorted.

"Rory's comes with coffee, April's got the milkshake," Luke answered. "I'm assuming you want the coffee."

"Actually, a strawberry milkshake sounds really good right now."

"You want a strawberry milkshake?" Luke asked, eyeing her skeptically.

"Yeah," she replied simply.

"No coffee?"

"Nah, just the milkshake will be good." Lorelai shot a quick glance to Rory.

"Ooh, you know what, I think I'll take one too," Rory added.

"You don't want coffee either?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"Nope," she said with a smile.

He looked back and forth at both of them, confused by their sudden refusal of coffee. Sighing, he figured that he'd never understand them and disappeared into the kitchen without a word.

"Here ya go," Luke said, placing a plate in front of each of them just a few minutes later. Caesar followed behind him with their milkshakes.

"Hey, Dad, can I get some Ranch dressing?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Luke disappeared into the kitchen.

"What's the ranch for? You didn't get a salad," Lorelai said.

"It's for my fries."

"You dip your fries in ranch?"

Luke returned, and set the small dish of dressing by April's plate, before going to wait on some customers who had just entered.

"Yeah. It's really good. You've never tried it?"

"No."

"Here, try it," she pushed her little bowl of ranch dressing towards Lorelai, who grabbed a fry and dipped it in.

"Oh wow. That's pretty good. Rory, you've got to try this." Rory reached obliged, extending a fry over Lorelai's plate to reach the ranch.

"I can't believe this is the first time you've ever had ranch with your fries," April said. "I mean, Dad talks all the time about the crazy things you guys eat. I figured a little ranch dressing would be typical for you."

"I know. Rory, I can't believe we've never thought to try ranch with our fries."

"I've had it before."

"What? When? We have never dipped our fries in ranch dressing before."

"Paris introduced me to it."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I don't know. Why are you making this such a big deal?"

"Of all the crazy food combo's we've attempted over the years, you never thought to mention this one."

"Well, this isn't really a 'crazy food combo,' it's actually quite common."

"Wha—I really just can't believe that you never mentioned it before. We eat fries all the time, and not once have you ever said, 'Hey mom, you should try dipping your fries in some ranch dressing.' No. But at least, thanks to April here, I have finally been shown the light."

"You're crazy," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, Luke, can I get some ranch?" Lorelai asked as Luke walked by.

"I didn't know you liked ranch." He came to stand behind the counter in front of them. "Since when do you like ranch?"

"Since I convinced her to try it with her fries," April spoke up.

"I guess I just never really thought much of ranch, because it's associated with salad, and I never really give salad much of a thought, so…" Lorelai trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders. Smiling up at Luke she said, "I want ranch."

"Sure," Luke said with a sigh as he went back into the kitchen to get her ranch.

As the girls ate their lunch, Luke was kept busy by all of the hungry customers, but he occasionally watched them while he worked. He marveled at the way they had easily fallen into conversation, but knowing Lorelai and her way with words, he figured that he shouldn't really be surprised. He also noticed that April seemed to be perfectly at ease with both Lorelai and Rory. The rush of customers had finally died down, so he wandered over to stand behind the counter just as they were finishing up.

"So," Luke started, "what are you guys doing this afternoon?"

"Well, right now, we're heading on over to the bookstore," Lorelai answered.

"Hey, would you guys mind if I tag along?" April asked, her eyes lighting up at the mention of the bookstore.

"Um, no, uh, not at all, I mean, it's fine with me," Lorelai stumbled a bit over her words, surprised that April wanted to hang out with them instead of staying in the diner.

"Yeah," Rory said with a smile. "The more the merrier."

"I'd love it if you came with us, April." Lorelai smiled and glanced at Luke, "Of course, it is up to your dad though."

"Dad, can I go?" April asked him hopefully. "I mean, not that I don't love hanging out with you, but there's only so much for me to do here in the diner. And I haven't been to the bookstore here in Stars Hollow yet."

"Uh, yeah, sure, it's fine with me," Luke responded. "Uh, how long do you think you'll be?"

"Uh, I'll just come back whenever Lorelai and Rory are done at the bookstore," April said to Luke before she turned toward the others. "I don't plan to intrude on all of your plans for the day or anything."

"Oh, we don't really have anything special planned," Rory said.

"April, you're always welcome to join us, but I have to warn you, Rory in a bookstore is quite a sight. Be prepared, we could be there all day."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind," April grinned. "I could probably spend all day in a bookstore too." She turned back to Luke and waved, "bye Dad."

"Bye, Luke," Rory said, before she and April headed for the door.

Lorelai was gathering her purse when Luke leaned over the counter and put his hand on her arm. She looked up and smiled, and he moved closer to give her a quick kiss.

"Bye."

"See ya later," she smiled and winked at him before leaving to join Rory and April who were waiting outside.

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**_To be continued…_**

**A/N: The next chapter shouldn't take as long as this one did. I just got busy with school and life. (College sucks) And then I didn't like what I had written for this chapter, so I scrapped it all and started over. But I've already started on the next chapter, so it should be up soon. **

**A/N: I apologize for any spelling, grammar, or continuity errors. I don't have a beta. I checked it many times myself, but it's just not the same as having a beta.**

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	5. I Wish We'd Live Forever

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**A/N: Extra special thanks to gilmore77 for the beta read.

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**

**Chapter 5: I Wish We'd Live Forever**

A little before 8, Luke finished putting the chairs onto the tables as April turned the sign on the door to 'close.'

"Alright, this place is cleaned up, let's get going," Luke said with a smile towards his daughter. "Wouldn't want your mom to get mad at me for bringing ya home late, now would we?"

April gathered her coat and followed Luke to his truck.

Luke spent the drive thinking of how the day had gone. Lorelai, Rory, and April had gotten along so well at lunch, and had spent most of the afternoon browsing the bookstore. Afterwards, they had come back to the diner for dinner, chattering away the whole time. He was thrilled at how they got along. As he made the turn onto April's street, the young girl broke the silence, interrupting his happy thoughts.

"Dad, are you, um, are you ashamed of me, or embarrassed by me or something?"

"What?" He was completely stunned at this sudden line of questioning. "Where'd that come from?"

"Why did you wait so long to introduce me to Lorelai? I mean, you never actually did formally introduce us or anything. You didn't tell her about me for months, and then you still kept her away from me. I just don't get it. I mean, you're marrying her. Were you afraid she wouldn't like me or something?"

"Wha-how did you-where did you get all this from?"

"People talk," she shrugged. "I mean, you never even told me that you were engaged, but I've known since before I met Lorelai. People talk," she said again.

Luke was stunned. He pulled into the drive leading to Anna and April's house, and put the truck in park. Not knowing what to say, he looked at his hands, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Dad, look, it's just…" she sighed heavily. "At first, I thought that maybe Lorelai didn't want anything to do with me. I mean you guys were just going along with your lives, all happy and planning a wedding, and then suddenly I come along and screw everything up."

"April-" she held up her hand to quiet him.

"You had her come to my birthday party, and I had such a fun time. My friends are still talking about it. Everyone keeps saying that no one will ever be able to top that party, and they're right. Lorelai was great. After the party, I thought she'd be around more, I mean, I could tell she liked me. You know, there was this one guy Mom dated, Frank. And he pretended to like me, but I could tell he didn't really care about me one way or another. But Lorelai seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me. And today, was so much fun. So, at first, I thought maybe Lorelai just wasn't too sure about me. But since then, I still haven't seen her…until today. I just don't get it, Dad. Do you not want me to know Lorelai? Or Rory? I mean, yeah, I met her before, but that was definitely not something you planned. It was a total coincidence that she was at Jess's bookstore when we were there." April's ranting skills rivaled that of Luke's, but she seemed to slow her words now, careful to say exactly what she meant. "When we first met, you decided you wanted to be part of my life, and I thought that you wanted me to be part of yours too. But Lorelai and Rory are a huge part of your life that you didn't even tell me about. It seems like you don't want me in that part of your life, and I know, it's your life…but it still doesn't seem right."

Luke took it all in, still staring at his hands. He wondered, momentarily, if the ranting thing was possibly genetic, or if she had picked it up in the short time she'd spent with him. When she added that last part, he remembered Lorelai saying something just like that to him. He had realized last night just how much he had hurt Lorelai, and was stunned to now learn that April had been feeling the same way.

"Um…geez," he sighed as he turned to look at her. "I am a real idiot." At that, April looked up at him. "April, I am so sorry. I, uh, I never meant to, uh…wow. I've really messed things up." He shied away from her gaze before continuing. "April, I guess…I just…I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to be a dad, but I'm trying. I didn't know how to handle things with…you and Lorelai. I mean…" He sighed heavily and shifted the blue baseball cap, running a hand through his hair before readjusting the hat nervously. He looked back to her, "April, I'm sorry. I…I don't really know what else to say. I'm sorry, and I'm trying to work things out. I'm glad you got to spend some time hanging out with Lorelai and Rory today…I'm trying to make things right."

"Look, Dad. I get that this whole thing is kind of weird. I come in off the street, rip out your hair, and suddenly you've got a kid. And I was just trying to win the science fair, and suddenly I've got a dad. I spent years, wondering about what it would be like to have my dad around and I just…I'm glad I found you...but I don't want to be in the way of anything for you."

"You are not in the way. Not at all."

"Today, when she walked into the diner for lunch, you grinned, Dad." Luke shook his head, smiling as April continued. "I've never seen you look that happy before. She makes you happy."

"She does," he nodded. "So do you," he added quietly. Her face lit up, and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but he noticed the porch light suddenly go on, and saw Anna open the door. "Hey, looks like we've been sitting out here too long, I guess," Luke pointed towards the house to clarify his sudden topic change. April followed his hand, watching as Anna started heading towards them.

"Well, I had fun today, Dad, really," April said as she opened her door and climbed out of the truck and leaned in through the open window. "It's the last week of school, so I'll probably be busy with tests and stuff, but I'll see you next weekend?"

"Sure," Luke said. Glancing at Anna, he added, "Whatever time is good for you and your mom. Just give me a call."

April nodded and headed towards her mother, meeting her on the sidewalk. Anna wrapped an arm around April and turned to head inside, but the young girl stopped. She turned around to wave to Luke as he backed out of the driveway, and only after her father returned the wave did she head into the house.

Luke pulled up to the Crap Shack, and noticed Lorelai and Rory sitting together on the porch swing. They both looked up when they heard the truck. As he was climbing out, he noticed Rory give Lorelai a quick hug before ducking into the house.

"Hey, I thought you guys were gonna do a movie marathon tonight," Luke commented as Lorelai stood to greet him on the porch. He was a bit surprised when she threw her arms around him, but quickly reciprocated the hug.

"Hey," she said, squeezing him harder for a moment before stepping back completely. "We just needed a little mother-daughter talk time."

"Oh, sorry if I interrupted. I could head back to the diner," he said, gesturing over his shoulder.

"No, no." She took his hand and led him to sit on the swing, and she took a seat beside him, still holding his hand. "Actually, I kind of need to talk to you about something." She turned to look him in the eye, and he was startled for a moment at how serious she looked. This woman rarely kept anything so serious, and her solemn face made him uneasy.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"Look, I don't really know how to tell you this. I mean, I've been trying to figure out the right way to say this and the build-up and what exactly I should say. I guess there's really nothing to do but just spit it out, so, here goes. I'm pregnant."

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_**To be continued…**_

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. No excuses this time, just the apology. I'm not going to make any promises for the next chapter, just that I'll try to get it done as fast as I can. Thanks for your patience. I sure hope some of you are still reading. **

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	6. Get Along Together

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**A/N: Extra special thanks to my wonderful beta gilmore77 .

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**

**Chapter 6: Get Along Together**

"Look, I don't really know how to tell you this. I mean, I've been trying to figure out the right way to say this and the build-up and what exactly I should say. I guess there's really nothing to do but just spit it out, so, here goes. I'm pregnant."

Lorelai sat there holding Luke's hands, waiting for some kind of reaction from him. His jaw went slack, his eyes widened but didn't blink, and it seemed as though he'd stopped breathing. After a few minutes, his silence started to scare her.

"Luke? Hey, babe, are you ok?" He remained frozen, still unblinking with his mouth hanging slightly open. "Luke. Hey, you need to breathe. Luke!" She heard him release a heavy breath, and finally caught his gaze. "What's going on in there? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? Please, hon, I need some words here." Her voice went up and her breathing increased as his silence caused her to panic.

"I'm just…uh," he cleared his throat. "Um…uh, I'm…surprised, I guess. I mean…how?"

"Oh come on now Luke, I know you know how."

"Lorelai," he rolled his eyes at her.

"Luke," she said mimicking his tone.

"Be serious. Please."

"Well, you're not giving me much to go on here. I mean, I know this is big. It's huge. But just...what are you thinking?"

"Um…uh, wow."

"Wow?" She stood up now and folded her arms across her chest, watching his face cautiously, trying to read him.

"I'd say 'wow' pretty much sums it all up." He glanced up at her as she started pacing in front of him.

Luke wasn't sure exactly how to say what he was feeling. Of course, he was happy about this, but he was terrified as well. He didn't know anything about taking care of a baby. What if he dropped it, or couldn't figure out how to change a diaper? What if he wasn't a good enough dad? What if he completely screwed everything up? All of the 'what if's' running through his mind quieted down as Lorelai jumped up and started pacing.

"But, is this a bad wow, a good wow, or an oh-my-god-I-suddenly-feel-the-need-to-run-as-far-away-as-possible wow?" She was talking so fast, his generic 'wow' having sent her into full on freak out mode. "What kind of 'wow' are we talking about here?"

Deciding he needed to calm her down, Luke reached out and grabbed her around the waist, causing her to tumble into his lap. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her in place, he gently turned her face and looked into her eyes. He could see that she was confused by his actions, but instead of saying anything, he simply leaned in and caught her lips with his own. As he deepened the kiss, he could feel her finally relax into him, securing her arms around his neck and pressing her body even closer to his. After just a moment, he pulled back and softly ran his hand down her hair.

"It was a great 'wow,'" he whispered soothingly.

"Really?" There was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Yeah." He nodded, running a hand from the top of her head, across her hair, down her back and then following the same trail again in an attempt to calm them both.

"Good." She leaned in and kissed him, but as she tried to deepen it he pulled back.

"Lorelai, um, did you really think I'd get a sudden urge to take off?"

"No. But you weren't saying anything, you were hardly breathing. Then you just kept saying 'wow' and I really wasn't sure what-" he cut her off with a kiss. When he pulled away, she leaned toward him and rested her forehead against his. "I knew you'd be freaked, but you kind of scared me for a minute there," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I was just…"

"I know. I am too." She buried her head in his chest and wrapped both arms around him, as he did the same. After a moment they both loosened the embrace, but remained close. They sat together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So, does Rory already know? Is that why she practically sprinted into the house when she saw me pull up in the truck?" Luke had a few questions running through his mind, and decided he'd start with the easiest.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Actually, she made me go buy the test."

"When…when did you take the test?" he asked. "How long have you known?"

"I just found out today."

"Oh," he nodded. "I was just wondering, because of the whole coffee thing this morning."

"Yeah. You're kid doesn't like coffee that early in the day," she smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

"Smart kid," he was grinning now.

"Huh. Mean kid is more like it, keeping me from my coffee," she attempted a pout, but she couldn't hold it for more than a second as her smile took over her face again. "Anyways, after the coffee almost made me sick this morning, Rory was worried. Of course, I tried to avoid her questioning, but that girl doesn't quit, she's got those journalist instincts."

"Did you know when you came in for lunch?"

"No, I hadn't even gotten a test yet, but we were both pretty sure. That's why she didn't get coffee either, she was trying to throw you off. Didn't want you to get suspicious and start questioning me in the middle of the diner."

"Well, you're known for your craziness, yeah, you turning down coffee had me a little suspicious. When Rory did too, I just assumed you guys were trying to confuse me."

"Well, I'm glad it worked," she shot him a sneaky smirk. "After dinner, we walked back here, and Rory decided that she was taking me to buy a pregnancy test, and said I had no choice in the matter; she wasn't going to let me put it off. We ended up in some random pharmacy somewhere between Stars Hollow and New Haven. We knew I couldn't buy one here, word would've spread so fast. I mean, I'm sure that even if Kirk wasn't working in Doose's, then Miss Patty or Babette would have been in there and witnessed it all. You would have been getting congratulated before I'd even had the chance to take the test."

"Oh geez," he sighed heavily. "The town. They're going to find out and then they're gonna start bugging me. Can we not tell them for a while?"

"Well, we can't hide it from them forever. But I'd really rather not…announce this right away. I mean," she let out a deep breath. "I'm still getting used to this myself. I guess I knew, though, really, before I took the test. I mean, I've just had this feeling, this…weird feeling, for a while now. I wasn't really sure what it was until today. Rory, actually, pieced it all together, made me face the facts."

"Is she…okay with this?"

"Thrilled."

"Me too."

"Good." She pecked him on the lips. "So, I've got a doctor's appointment for this Wednesday, at 1."

"1, huh? I guess I'll pick you up from the Dragonfly at 12:30, does that sound good? Or do you want to come by the diner first for lunch and we could leave from there?"

"You know, you don't have to come with me," Lorelai said. "They'll probably just draw some blood and give me the official results."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. I want to be there," he explained.

"Ok then, I'll come by for lunch and we can leave from the diner." She stood up, but before he could question her, she grabbed the blanket from the back of the swing. Sitting down next to him, she curled her legs under her and leaned against him, arranging the blanket so they were both covered. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder so she could snuggle into him even more. Her silence confused him, as she usually found things to babble on about all the time. He could tell she was thinking, and, as he had some thoughts of his own to sort through, he decided to just enjoy the silence while it lasted. She would talk when she was ready.

"Hey, Luke. Um, I'm sorry I freaked out on you last night." She sat up to look at him. "I'm sorry I just yelled at you like that and then started walking away and-"

"Hey, no." He noticed tears starting to form in her eyes, and cut her off immediately. "Don't." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking. "Last night…we needed to have that…conversation. I feel so bad, that you were hurting for so long. And I hate that I let the whole situation with April get so out of control. But, we'll be ok. You and me. Lorelai," he spoke her name softly, with reverence. "We're going to be just fine."

She nodded, but quickly looked away as the tears fell from her eyes. He noticed and turned her face back towards him, gently wiping her tears away.

"Ah!" She laughed slightly as her tears continued to fall. "Stupid pregnancy hormones," she paused, before continuing. "You're right, we did need to get all of that out. And, wow, I'm so glad we got things straightened out before I found out about this." She reached her hand down and ran it across her stomach. He took his hand and placed it on top of hers.

"We're having a baby," he said, amazement and tenderness evident in his voice, and a smile playing across his lips.

"Yeah, we are."

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**_To be continued…_**

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	7. Turn These Tempers into Trust

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**A/N: Extra special thanks to gilmore77 for the beta read. **

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**Chapter 7: Turn These Tempers into Trust**

"Hey, doc, can you please tell him that I am allowed to have coffee while I'm pregnant!" Lorelai demanded as the doctor walked back into the exam room that she and Luke were sitting in.

Lorelai had gone to Luke's for lunch, and was upset when he refused her coffee. She hadn't made a scene at the diner, not wanting to alert the townspeople; but as soon as they'd gotten in the car she'd started nagging him. He'd managed to change the subject and had successfully kept her distracted from the coffee topic since they'd gotten to the doctor's office. The doctor had come in and talked to them, Lorelai had had some blood drawn, and left them waiting for the "official" results. As soon as they were left alone in the exam room, Lorelai had started up again about the coffee.

"Well, the results are in, and congratulations, you're pregnant." Dr. Evans had been Lorelai's doctor for years, and was used to her impatience.

"Great, thanks. We kinda already knew that, but confirmation's good. Now, about the coffee," Lorelai smiled hopefully at him.

"I'm not going to have you getting my kid addicted to caffeine before it's even born," Luke interjected.

"Do you honestly expect me to go nine months without coffee?"

"It's not good for you," Luke said. "And it wouldn't hurt you to just give it up all together." He turned toward the doctor. "Can you just settle this?"

"Alright you two, calm down," he chuckled at little as Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Luke before quickly turning to smile at him. "Lorelai, I know you need coffee like air, but you're going to have to cut back. Too much caffeine isn't good for the baby."

Luke smirked at her and she swatted him on the arm.

"But," the doctor continued. "You don't have to cut it out completely. I am surprised though, that you want it at all. Most women can't even stand the smell of it during these early stages of pregnancy."

"Well, doc, with the morning sickness and everything, I haven't been able to stomach it in the morning, but by early afternoon, that caffeine craving is too strong. I've just been steering clear of it early in the morning. So far, the morning sickness has actually kept to the mornings."

"Well, that's good."

"You said she had to cut back," Luke brought up. "For her, cutting back would be drinking only 8 cups a day instead of 12. Isn't that still way too much?"

"Yes," Dr. Evans replied as Lorelai's swatted Luke again.

"You're trying to kill me aren't you?" Lorelai asked Luke.

"No, I'm trying to prolong your life. And seriously, it's for the baby. I don't want anything to go wrong." He kept his tone soothing and ran his hand along her arm.

"Lorelai," the doctor said, "I know this will be hard for you, but try to cut back to 3 cups a day for the next few days, then go down to 2. I wouldn't be surprised if you started getting headaches because your body's so used to the caffeine. But after a week or so, the 2 cups a day should be fine."

"Ha! I win!" Lorelai threw her arms in the air in triumph.

"How do you win?" Luke asked. "You'll only be drinking like 1/10th the amount you normally do."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "But you weren't going to let me have any. So this is a win for me." She smirked deviously at him, and he just shook his head.

7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

That night, the phone rang just as Luke walked in the door, having left Caesar to close up the diner. Lorelai was lounging on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey, babe," she called from the couch when she heard him close the door.

"Hey," he returned as he dropped his keys on the table. The phone continued to ring, and he could tell she wasn't about to move. "I'll get it," he walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone from the counter.

"Hello," he said gruffly into the receiver.

"Luke, hey, I called the diner but Caesar said that you'd left early, and he gave me this number."

"Oh, Anna, hi. What's going on? Is April ok?"

"Luke, April's fine. It's just, I've got a favor to ask. I just got a call about my mother, she lives in New Mexico, and I've got to get out there right away. My flight leaves Friday morning. But, Friday is April's last day of school, and she really doesn't want to miss it." Luke listened as Anna took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. "Is there any way she can stay with you? It'll probably just be for the weekend. April actually suggested this, and I'm thinking this way, she won't have to miss her last day, and I won't have to drag her around while I'm dealing with whatever's going on with my mom."

"Um, yeah. It should be ok. Hang on." He moved the phone away from his mouth. Lorelai had wandered into the kitchen and gotten herself a glass of water. She paused as he turned to her. "Hey, would it be ok if April stayed with us for a few days? Anna's gotta go out of town."

"Yeah, sure," she smiled. "You know, I think Rory's staying at school this weekend, since she's taking summer classes to catch up. April could stay in Rory's room."

"Luke, wait, no." Anna spoke up to get his attention. "Hey! No. I was asking if she could stay with you, not with your girlfriend," she said harshly.

"ANNA STOP!" Luke yelled into the phone. He was sick of Anna trying to control everything, and he figured now was the perfect time to straighten things out. "Look, she's not just my girlfriend, we're getting married. Lorelai is part of my life, and I'm part of April's life, so that means that you had better get used to the fact that Lorelai's gonna be around!"

Suddenly the line went dead. The annoying beeping sound coming through the phone signaled the fact that Anna was no longer listening to Luke's rant.

"She hung up on me," Luke said in surprise as he turned to Lorelai. Luke held the phone in his hand for a moment, before clicking the button to hang it up.

"She can't keep doing this," Luke said to Lorelai as he turned the phone on again, and started furiously punching the buttons. "We've got to figure this out, and we've got to do it now. I can't keep playing these games with her." Lorelai said nothing, only nodded her head and rubbed his back soothingly. After a second, he set the phone back down. "It's not even ringing, I think she unplugged the phone."

7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Suddenly the line went dead.

Anna looked at the phone in her hand in surprise. Luke had been in the middle of a rant, she didn't really think he'd hang up before he got his point across.

"What is your problem, Mother?"

Anna turned around to see April holding the unplugged phone cord in her hands.

"April, I thought you were upstairs." Anna really didn't know what else to say. She knew that April had heard her talking to Luke, and, with how loud Luke had been yelling, April had probably heard all Luke had said too.

"You said you were going to call Dad and ask if I could stay with him while you're out of town." The usually passive girl spoke with a bitterness in her voice that Anna was not accustomed to.

"Hey, young lady. Watch the tone!" April was pissed, and Anna was desperate to take control of this situation.

"I thought you were ok with me staying with Dad! You said it would be ok." Standing with her hands on her hips, April stared down her mother, holding her gaze firmly, determined not to back down.

"I did," Anna said through clenched teeth. "I said you could stay with Luke, not with his girlfriend."

"Mom, Lorelai is not just his girlfriend. They're getting married."

"April-"

"No, stop," April said forcefully. "You kept me away from him for years, for 12 years! You kept me from knowing my father, you kept him from knowing me. And that's just not fair. Now, you claim you had your reasons, ok, whatever. But I went looking for him, and I found him. And whatever reasons you claim you had for not ever even telling Dad that I existed, well, I'm pretty sure he's proved you wrong on that. He is a good man. He's a great father. He WANTS to be a part of my life, and I want him to be. Why can't you let me have that?" April had worked herself up so much with her rant that she was pacing across the floor. She stopped suddenly and turned to her mother, waiting for an answer.

Anna was shocked. April had never talked to her like that. Never in 13 years had her daughter yelled at her and questioned her decisions like she just had. She didn't know what to say. She didn't have an answer to April's question, at least, not a reasonable one. She was jealous. Things had been just fine for so long. They had a great life, just the two of them. Yes, 13 years ago, Anna had kept April's existence from Luke because she honestly believed that he wouldn't want anything to do with a child. But now, as April had pointed out, Luke did want to be in his daughter's life, and that should be a good thing.

"You know, for a while, I thought he was ashamed of me," April said softly. She continued on, her voice growing in confidence as she explained, "I kept hearing people in the diner whispering about Lorelai. Whispering about Dad's life outside of me. At first, I thought that maybe Dad had told Lorelai about me, and she just didn't want to know me. Then I thought that maybe he was embarrassed by me. I kept wondering…" April was near tears, and her voice broke a little, but she held her mother's gaze. "He said he wanted to be a part of my life, but I didn't understand why he was keeping me out of this important part of his life. But it was you," her voice was barely a whisper. "It was your fault."

"Oh, so he blamed this on me, is that it? You're standing here crying over a man you barely even know, April this is crazy!" Anna knew that there was substance to April's accusations, but she couldn't give in.

"No, Mom. I'm not crying over some man. He's my father! And he didn't blame you. I asked him about it, and he blamed himself. But I just heard you! I heard you tell him you didn't want me staying with him if it meant staying with Lorelai. Why does that matter?"

"I don't want you spending so much time with some strange woman."

"Oh my god! MOM! Lorelai is a part of Dad's life. An important part. They're getting married, she's going to be my step-mother! She's in Dad's life and that means she's in my life too! WHY is that such a big deal?"

Again, Anna didn't know how to answer. Before April had unplugged the phone, Luke had said basically the same thing. It was unnerving, and she almost wondered if they had planned this. But she knew that they were both right. If Luke married this woman, she would become April's stepmother. As Luke was becoming more of a permanent fixture in April's life, so would Lorelai. Anna couldn't decide which bothered her more, the fact that April was already so attached to Luke, or knowing that she would soon become just as attached to Lorelai. She didn't let her mind go there, she wasn't a jealous person, she knew that she would never be the only important person in April's life. But she had been for so long, and she feared that this infringement on their lives would somehow lessen her importance to her daughter.

April stood there, waiting for an answer. Anna could see that this was important to her. Luke had become important to April, and there was nothing she could do about that now. Fighting it was doing no good. Fighting it was the reason why April was standing there looking at her with tears streaming down her face. She was the reason for those tears. And she had to do something to fix it.

Her cell phone on the counter started ringing.

"Mom, we're not done here."

"I know, just hang on." April glared at her as she went to answer it, but Anna just held up her hand to stop April from saying anything else.

"Hello?" It was the travel agent who had booked her the flight to New Mexico. "Yes. Oh really? Wow, that's early. Well, I guess if that's the only way. Ok then. Thanks for letting me know."

April stood there listening to her mother's end of the conversation. Anna hung up the phone and turned toward her daughter, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Look, that was about the flight. The time changed, and it leaves at 6:30 in the morning now instead of 10. I won't be able to drop you off at school before I go."

"Am I staying with Dad or what?"

Shaking her head, Anna picked her cell phone back up, and dialed the number that Caesar had given her earlier.

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**_To be continued…_**

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review. I'd really like to know what you think of it. Is it good, bad, crappy? I just want to know.**


	8. It's Just Who We Are

**********Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I've got tons of excuses, but nothing I'll bore you with. But I really am sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. **

A/N: Thanks sooo much to my lovely beta, gilmore77, for the extra help with this chapter. Seriously, girl, you rock, and this chapter is all the better for it.

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**Chapter 8: It's Just Who We Are**

"She can't keep doing this," Luke said to Lorelai as he turned the phone on again, and started furiously punching the buttons. "We've got to figure this out, and we've got to do it now. I can't keep playing these games with her." Lorelai said nothing, only nodded her head and rubbed his back soothingly. After a second, he set the phone back down. "It's not even ringing, I think she unplugged the phone."

"Oh Luke," Lorelai wasn't quite sure what to say, but she knew she needed to say something. "Maybe, um, she only has a cordless phone, and the battery died. Or maybe the plug was loose or something, and it just fell out. Or…"

He gave her a slight smile, knowing that she was only trying to make him feel better.

"No, maybe she just didn't want to hear what I had to say," he said in defeat.

Suddenly the phone rang, causing both Luke and Lorelai to slightly jump in their seats. Luke quickly grabbed it, and answered before it could ring a second time.

"Hello." It had to be Anna, he just knew it. The phone had just disconnected a minute ago. Maybe Lorelai was right, maybe she didn't do it on purpose, maybe something had just happened to her phone. He waited, trying to calm himself. He still wanted to straighten things out with Anna about Lorelai, but he figured yelling at her again wouldn't help him.

_"Hey, Luke, can I talk to Mom?"_

It wasn't Anna. Luke's face fell a little, and Lorelai shot him a puzzled look as he handed her the phone.

"It's Rory," he explained.

"Hey, hon," she said into the phone, giving Luke a sympathetic smile. He simply shrugged his shoulders toward her.

"_So, how did the appointment go?" _

"Well, you might not believe this one, so brace yourself, but the doc says I'm pregnant."

"_Hahaha," Rory replied dryly. "I already knew that one. I just wanted to see how it went. Everything's ok?"_

"Oh, it's all good. Actually, better than good. The doc did help me out big time with one thing."

"_Ooh, really? What?"_

"He helped me beat Luke in the battle over coffee!" She threw her arms in the air to emphasize her victory, even though Rory couldn't see her through the phone; Luke just rolled his eyes at her.

"_Luke's letting you have coffee?" Rory asked in disbelief. _

Paul Anka, who had been sleeping on the couch, wandered into the kitchen and sat by the back door, staring at the pair sitting at the table. Lorelai, distracted by her conversation with Rory, didn't notice the dog, but Luke did.

"Hey, I'm gonna…" he said quietly to Lorelai as he stood up and grabbed the dog's leash. She nodded at him distractedly, still talking away to Rory about all things baby related.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The phone rang just moments after she hung up with Rory. She held her breath for a moment, wondering if it was possible that Anna had called back. She thought for a moment that maybe she should get Luke to answer it, in case it was Anna. She wasn't about to hide from the woman, but she'd had a long day and didn't want to end up yelling at April's mother as Luke had. As the phone rang again, she remembered that Luke was out walking Paul Anka. Sighing heavily, she resigned herself to answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai, it's Anna."

"Oh, um, hang on just a second, I'll get Luke—" Lorelai stood up and was heading for the door when Anna cut her off.

"No, it's fine. Look. I'll have to drop April off Thursday night, and she'll need a ride to and from school on Friday. I get back on Monday, and I can pick her up then. Is all of that going to be okay?"

"Um, yeah, sure." Surprised by Anna's sudden change of heart, and the fact that she was actually volunteering these details to herself and not demanding to talk to Luke, Lorelai stopped halfway to the door. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to Luke. He's just walking Paul Anka. Paul Anka the dog, not the singer. Because that would be weird if the real Paul Anka was here. That would be kind of cool too and—" she was a bit nervous to be talking to Anna, and couldn't stop herself from babbling. Thankfully, Anna interrupted her before she could really get going.

"It's fine. April's got your address." Anna tried to keep her tone even, as she was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing, but knew that she'd have to get used to the situation. "I'm assuming that it's still ok if she stays there."

"Yeah," Lorelai was struggling to figure out what to say. She definitely didn't want to somehow mess this up, but didn't want to start babbling again. "Yeah, um, it's perfectly fine. We'd love to have her."

"Ok. Bye." Anna promptly hung up, leaving Lorelai stunned and a bit confused by the whole conversation.

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April stood there listening to her mother's end of the conversation, and when Anna finally hung up, the young girl suddenly threw her arms around her.

"Thanks, Mom. Really." She squeezed her mom briefly before pulling away. "Ok, I'm going to go read now."

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Lorelai stood stock still for a moment, staring out at nothing; but as she was setting the phone on the table, Luke walked into the house with Paul Anka. Still going over the conversation, she glanced up at him with a blank face, receiving a puzzling look in return.

"So, um, Anna just called back." Lorelai said, blinking repeatedly and focusing her gaze on Luke.

"Why didn't you come get me?"

"I was going to, I told her I was going to get you. But she didn't give me time to."

"So, what did she say? Should I call her back?"

"She's dropping April off here tomorrow night, and she'll pick her up some time on Monday."

"Really? That's great." His face lit up into a huge smile, but it was then shadowed over by a look of confusion. "What did you say to her? I mean, how'd you get her to change her mind?"

"I didn't do anything," Lorelai said. "She just started talking, saying we'll need to get April to school and back on Friday. Maybe she couldn't get anyone else to take April for the weekend or something…"

"I don't know. It's kind of weird, but I'm not gonna question it." He pulled her up from the chair and wrapped her in a hug. She suddenly pulled back, with a look of almost horror on her face.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. Oh, what are we going to do?" She was pacing now.

"What?! What's wrong? This is a good thing."

"No, well, yeah, but no. It's just. Friday night dinner."

"Oh," his face now mirrored hers. "No. Um…"

"Yeah. You had to be all, 'let's tell your parents about the baby right away,' and _you_ made me call them earlier." She pointed her finger at him accusingly. "Now they're expecting to see both of us at dinner this week, and there's no way we can get out of it now."

"I know. I thought it was a good idea at the time." He lifted his cap nervously, raking his hands through his hair before re-adjusting the hat on his head.

"What are we going to do with April while we're at dinner?" Lorelai asked.

"She'll just have to go with us," Luke said, heading over to sit on the couch.

"You're serious? Really? You want to subject your poor, innocent, sweet, wonderful daughter to the horror of Ava and Adolph?" She sat next to him on the couch shaking her head at him as she placed her hand on his knee. "No offense, babe, but you've got to be crazy! Luke, you've met my parents. They're pretentious, condescending, and one visit with them and April might never want to come near us again."

"Look, you're overreacting."

"Not really. You know how they are, Luke."

"Lorelai."

"Luke, seriously, April shouldn't have to deal with them. Especially since you want us to tell them that I'm pregnant. They're going to freak out, and April shouldn't have to be there for that. Hell, I don't even want to be there for that. Can't we just tell them over the phone. Or send them a postcard. Or a singing telegram!"

"Lorelai," he said rolling his eyes at her. "Look, we're going to tell them at dinner, and it'll be fine. Relax." He reached for her hand and held it between his. "April can just come to dinner with us, and I'm sure your parents will be polite to her…or at least polite enough." They were quiet for a moment, when Luke suddenly realized something. "We've gotta tell April about the baby. How are we supposed to tell April about the baby?" He gave her a pleading look, as if she had all of the answers.

Lorelai smiled at his use of the word 'we'. Just a week ago, any time he referred to any kind of situation dealing with April, she had been thoroughly excluded. Things definitely were changing, and she was happy to know that she had finally cleared things up with Luke about the whole April situation. Now, here was her chance, but she still hesitated slightly before sharing her thoughts.

"Well, hmm…" she brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face and exhaled deeply. "If we're going to tell my parents at dinner Friday night, and April will be at that dinner, we should probably tell her some time before. I mean, I don't want her to feel shanghaied by the news, you know."

"Oh… yeah… your parents. Well, maybe we could wait. To tell them, I mean."

"Wait to tell my parents?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, you didn't really want to tell them right away anyways, and I kind of forced you into it. And… well…" he sighed and looked down. "Maybe we should just keep this news to ourselves, you know, just for a little while."

"Wait, so now we're not telling my parents? That doesn't get April out of dinner, Luke. I already called and told my mom that you were joining us this week. And just two minutes ago you suggested that we just take April with us."

"Well, yeah, we'll still all go to dinner."

"But just not tell my parents about the baby?"

"No. Well, yeah. But I mean… ya know, hold off on telling April too."

"Luke," she frowned, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. She didn't want to push him, her involvement with April still being so new and all, but she couldn't ignore the sudden sinking feeling in her gut. She paused, taking a deep breath and holding it. "Why don't you want to tell April?"

"I just think it'd be better to wait, that's all," he said, not looking at her.

"Luke. Luke, look at me," she softly requested. She waited until he lifted his gaze to hers, and spoke in a low tone. "When I first told you that I wanted to put off telling my parents about this baby, you wouldn't even hear of it. You said that waiting will do no good; they're going to find out eventually. April is going to find out eventually."

"Let's just wait," Luke said.

"How long? A week? A month?" Her voice went up as she jumped from the couch. "Do we just wait until April comes to visit one day and wants to know why I've suddenly got a huge lump of a stomach? She's 13, she'll figure it out! God Luke! This isn't something we should be hiding! You were happy about this! Why do you want to hide it? We were happy about this!"

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_**to be continued...**_

**A/N: So...your thoughts? Good? Bad? Crappy? Let me know!**


	9. We've Come Too Far To Start Over Now

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far. **

**A/N: Again, I am so sorry for taking so long to update. It's been a month this time, and I can only hope that someone is still interested in reading this. And I know that this chapter is shorter than usual, so, more apologies for that. **

**A/N: Thanks to my beta, Filo77.

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**Chapter 9: We've Come Too Far To Start Over Now**

She was all worked up and yelling at him now. He stood up and crossed the room, reaching out to rub her shoulders.

"Hey, Lorelai," he said in an attempt to calm her. "Breathe. Lorelai, relax and breathe. I **am** happy about this. That's not what I meant. I'm not trying to hide anything." He held her shoulders and could feel her let out a deep breath.

"Luke, it's just…" her voice broke and she quickly closed her eyes, pressing them with the heels of her hands to stop any tears from slipping out. "You wanted to tell my parents right away, because, as you said, 'it'll be worse if we wait, because when they find out that we hid it from them, they'll be hurt.' Well, Luke," her voice was so quiet, he could scarcely hear her. "Luke, doesn't all of that apply to April too?"

"Lorelai…" he sighed. He knew she was right, but he couldn't help the way he felt. Looking at her, seeing how close she was to tears, he couldn't help but remember that fight. It was only a few days ago that she had come to him in tears; and when he didn't react in time, she walked away, and he knew he'd almost lost her at that moment. She had been so sad, so broken, and it was his fault. Looking at her now, he knew he needed to just talk to her, tell her why he wanted to wait, share his worries with her. Because shutting down and shutting her out was not an option.

"Lorelai," he said her name softly, leading her to the couch where they both sat down. "I'm just… I guess I'm just afraid of how she's going to react. I'm not even sure why. I just don't know how to tell her, and what if she gets upset? Then I sure as hell won't know what to say to her. And then she'll spend her whole visit here all upset and she'll go home to Anna all upset and then I'll never see her again."

"Yeah, or, she is a little upset about the whole thing, but you and I talk to her together and calm her down. Or, maybe, now, I know you may find this incredibly unbelievable, but she could be just fine with the whole thing. I mean, this baby is her little brother or sister. Ok, half-brother or half-sister. But still. Luke, some kids welcome the idea of siblings. April might be thrilled to find out that she's going to be a big sister."

The silence was almost deafening. They sat there, neither looking at the other for a few minutes. Luke was stuck on what she had said, about them talking to April together. For a moment, he wondered why he hadn't thought of that, why he had forgotten that she could help him with this. He was trying desperately to merge what had become two separate parts of his life: April and Lorelai. And he was excited about having this baby with Lorelai; it was something he'd wanted for so long, and it was finally happening.

"I know you're trying here," Lorelai whispered. "You say you're worried, and… I'm glad you told me. But…" she sighed. "I don't think we should wait. I think we should tell April before we go to Friday night dinner. And at dinner, we should tell my parents, just like we had already planned. Look, I'm just giving you my opinion, my feelings on this, because we that's what we have to do for this to work. I'm not going back to where I was; I'm not going to hide any time April comes around, and when I have something to say, I'm going to say it. But, if you want to wait to tell her, that's fine. But we do have to tell her at some point, and we'll need to do it together."

"No. You're right. There's really no point in waiting. But, just… If she's not quite so thrilled, promise me you'll, ya know, help me figure out how to… deal with it all." He turned to look at her, his hand between them on the couch clasping hers tightly.

She nodded her head as she leaned in towards him, giving him a quick kiss.

"I'll help you tell April, but you've got to help me tell my parents," she said, giving him a wry grin. He smiled, nodding his head in agreement before leaning in to kiss her, this one lasting a bit longer.

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_**to be continued...**_

**A/N: So...your thoughts? Good? Bad? Crappy? Let me know!**


	10. Your Own Way Of Looking At It

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song. **

**A/N: I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. Yes, I know, after 2 months, sorry seems like such a meaningless thing to say. But it's true. I am sorry. I could tell you why it took so long, but I'm sure you'd prefer to just read the story, rather than a bunch of pointless excuses. But, before I get into Chapter 10, I'll give you a brief synopsis of what's happened in the story so far. **

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_After issuing the ultimatum, Lorelai walked away, but before she could get too far, Luke ran after her. They had a huge discussion/fight back at the Crap Shack, and managed to work things out, or at least made peace on the promise of working things out. Luke invited Lorelai and Rory to have lunch with April, and all of the girls were thrilled. Later that night while taking April home, Luke is again forced to recognize his mistakes in keeping his daughter and fiancé separate. Lorelai reveals to Luke that she is pregnant, and is relieved to find that he is elated by the news. April fights with Anna about spending time with Luke and the Gilmore girls, and the young girl forces her mother to realize that there is no way around it. Luke and Lorelai discuss telling both her parents and his daughter about the pregnancy. They come to the conclusion that it's better to tell them as soon as possible, and decide that they will spread the news within the upcoming visits. _

**Chapter 10: Your own Way of Looking at It**

Thursday night, Luke came home from the diner a little before 7. April was due to arrive any minute, and Lorelai was supposed to already be home, but he frowned when he noticed her Jeep was missing from the drive. Walking into the house, he greeted Paul Anka with a quick pat on the head, and headed for the phone. He hit the button next to the red-blinking light, and headed into the kitchen to grab a glass of water as the messages started to play. After a few random messages, he picked up his head as her voice began to play over the machine.

"_Hey babe, it's me. I called the diner first, but the line was busy, and then I tried your cell, but you didn't answer, so I figured I'd just leave a message for you here and hope that you get it. If not, you'll probably just end up calling the Inn, because, as I'm sure you've noticed by the silence in the house, I'm not home yet. It's just that the paperwork here seemed to pile up today, and there were some problems with a poultry delivery that had Sookie all freaked out, and after an unfortunate run-in with Michel, one of the new maids quit, and that left us understaffed for the day. Anyways, just lots of little things all adding up, you know how it is. Don't worry about me though, I'll be home as soon as I can. 7:30 at the latest, I promise. Love ya."_

He sighed and shook his head. It's a wonder the machine didn't cut her off, but she talked so fast, as always. He wandered around the house a little, randomly fluffing the pillows on the couch and straightening out the magazines on the coffee table. Sitting on the couch, he reached for the remote and turned on the TV. After flipping through a few channels he abruptly turned it off, stood up, and started pacing around the living room.

Suddenly, Paul Anka let out a bark and ran upstairs to hide, and Luke heard the slamming of two car doors outside. Letting out a nervous sigh, Luke opened the door before they had even reached the porch.

"Hey April. Anna," Luke greeted them, opening the door wider and stepping back so they could come in. "Do you have more bags in the car?"

"Hey Dad," April hugged him. "Yeah, this is just my book bag for school, but I've got another bag in the car. I wasn't sure if there was anything going on this weekend, or if we'd just be hanging out, so I wasn't sure what to bring, so, it's kind of a big bag," April explained as they headed out to the car.

Luke grabbed the suitcase from the backseat and carried it back towards the house. He noticed Anna standing on the porch, with her arms crossed in front of her and a slight frown darkening her face. Even as he and April entered the house, she hesitated behind them. Setting down the suitcase just inside the hall, he turned to her and gestured for her to enter, then closed the door behind her.

"Um, well," he cleared his throat and picked the suitcase up again, heading for Rory's room. "Just follow me, the room is this way." Walking in, he set the suitcase by the closet and cleared his throat again. "So, um. This is Rory's room, well, I guess, was Rory's room, 'cuz she goes to Yale now. And um, you know, she doesn't really live here anymore, well, she's home sometimes on weekends, but um, it'll always be _her_ room. Although, this weekend, it's your room…" He was babbling. Luke doesn't babble, but maybe it was something he'd picked up from Lorelai.

Thankfully, he was interrupted by Paul Anka, who came running down the stairs, barking happily, followed by the sound of the front door closing.

"Luke?"

"Hey, we're in Rory's room."

"Oh, hey," Lorelai said, coming to stand outside of the door, with Paul Anka at her heels.

"Hey, I didn't know you had a dog!" April said excitedly. She set her book bag on the bed and moved to get a better look at Paul Anka.

"He's not my dog," Luke answered gruffly.

"Aw, he didn't mean that, baby," Lorelai said to the dog, as she leaned down to scratch his head. She continued petting his head while she lifted up his ear and whispered loudly, "Don't worry, he loves you, he's just afraid to show it." Luke just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, he's so cute. What's his name?" April asked as she came closer and leaned down, patting the dog on the head.

"Paul Anka," Lorelai replied with a smile.

"Like the singer?" April asked.

"Yup."

"Cool."

"Thanks, I thought so."

"Well," Anna spoke up. "I've got to be going. My flight leaves rather early, and I still need to finish packing tonight."

"Oh, ok, yeah," said Luke, ushering them out of the small bedroom and into the kitchen.

After leaving her cell phone number, as well as two other numbers that they could reach her at, Anna reluctantly headed home. April finished settling into her room for the weekend, and Lorelai headed upstairs to change out of her work clothes. A little while later, the three of them were sitting around the living room watching TV. Luke was silent, as usual, while Lorelai and April happily mocked the ridiculous television shows and chatted about random topics.

Lorelai could sense Luke's nerves, and knew it was because of the news that they had planned to tell April tonight. She had already told him that she would simply follow his lead, so she was merely waiting for him to broach the subject. When he suddenly reached for the remote, turned off the TV, and told April that they needed to talk to her, she knew it was time.

"So, um…Lorelai and I kind of need to tell you something." Luke started nervously.

"Ok," April replied, looking back and forth at the adults.

"Well, um," he cleared his throat. "Uh, Lorelai and I are having a baby." He decided it would be easiest if he just said it and got it over with. He wondered for a moment if he should have brought it up some other way, but knew that he couldn't change how he said it now. It was out. He didn't even realize that he was now holding his breath, waiting for his daughter's reaction.

"What? Really?" She looked from Luke to Lorelai, glancing down at Lorelai's stomach, before looking back to each of their faces.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant," Lorelai said.

Suddenly April squealed loudly and jumped up, giving each of them a hug and then standing there with a bright smile on her face. "This is so cool. It's so exciting. Seriously. I've always wanted a little brother or sister." She hugged Luke again, and then turned to Lorelai. "So, when are you due? Do you know what it is yet? Boy or girl?"

"Um, whoa. Slow down there, with the questions." Lorelai said with a smile. "Ok, um, I'm about 6 weeks along, so I'm due in early January. And it's still way too soon to tell if it's a boy or a girl yet. Actually, your dad and I haven't even talked about if we want to know or if we want it to be a surprise." She glanced at Luke as she said this.

"Eh, it doesn't matter to me. If you want to find out, we can, once you're far enough along, but if you want to be surprised, that's fine by me too." Luke said to Lorelai.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes I guess."

"So," Luke said turning to April, "you're ok with this. I mean, you're happy about the baby and everything?" He just wanted to make sure that she was really ok with this. He was so happy about this, and he wanted his daughter to be happy too.

"Yeah, Dad, I am thrilled."

"Well, good. That's good."

"So, um, April, by the way, we're supposed to go to dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. Now, usually, this is just something that Rory and I are forced into, but, you and your dad kind of have to come along too this time."

"Oh, that'll be nice. Your parents do know about me, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, they do. But, it's just um…let me warn you now. My parents aren't exactly the Waltons. In fact, they kind of make people such as, you know, Stalin and Hitler, look like down-to-earth, fun loving guys."

"Lorelai!" Luke admonished.

"I'm just giving her fair warning!"

"Look, April, ignore her."

"Luke, she needs to know what she'll be walking into tomorrow. I'm not going to lie to your daughter about this. There's no way around the truth here." Lorelai turned to April again. "Seriously, if I could get you out of this, I would, in a heartbeat. But this is all your dad's fault anyway."

"How bad can they be?" April asked.

"April, they're not that bad." Luke said. "Lorelai, stop trying to scare her. Look, April, her parents are kind of…different. But they're not bad people. Lorelai's just nervous about telling them about the baby."

"Oh, they don't know yet?"

"No," Lorelai answered. "But your brilliant father here is forcing me to tell them at dinner tomorrow night. I said that if I have to tell them, than he has to be there. So I had already called and told my mom that he'd be coming, when your mom called about having you stay here for the weekend. And really, we're so happy to have you, but since Luke has to go to dinner, now you do too. And like I said, this is really all his fault. Oh, did you happen to bring a dress, or a skirt, or something kind of dressy?"

"Um, no, why?"

"Well, we sort of have to dress up for dinner," Luke replied.

"We have to dress up to have dinner with your parents?" April asked Lorelai.

"Yeah. Did I mention that this is all your father's fault?" April just nodded. "Um, well, you know what. How about, I'll take off from work a little early tomorrow, and I'll pick you up from school and take you shopping? Is that ok?" She looked from April to Luke and then back to April.

"Oh geez. Do you really need to use this as an excuse to go shopping?" Luke complained.

"Luke, again, your fault," she grinned as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "The girl needs something to wear to the house of horrors. At least she can get a new outfit out of this. So, April, what do you think? Wanna do a little shopping tomorrow? We'll hit the mall, find you something fabulous yet appropriate. Something that my mother won't be able to find any fault in at all. Hey, we can even hit up the book store if it doesn't take us too long to find a dress."

"It sounds like a good plan to me."

"Oh man," Luke grumbled. "You better just shop for April. Please don't go spending all kinds of money on useless things."

"Eh, I'm not going to make you any promises that I can't keep," she replied with a shrug and a devilish grin.

* * *

**_to be continued..._**

**A/N: As always, I owe a huge thanks to my wonderful beta.**

**A/N: So...your thoughts? Good? Bad? Crappy? Pissed at me for taking so long? It's ok, I can take it, let me know. **


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